"See here, Hiram Hackett, you're too free with your tongue, an' that's no lie either. When I try to get out of a scrimmage, jest let me know, an' I'll make you a present of the best pair of black eyes you ever wore. I reckon a man can have his growl without it bein' told all over the ship that he's gettin' weak in the upper story, eh?" This last remark brought the squabble to a close, and each man appeared to think that he had come off at the top of the heap, when, according to my idea, they ended in the same place they began. Phil and I did a good bit of thinking and arguing over this new war in which we were to take part; but we were mighty careful not to speak of it where any sailorman might hear us, and in the meantime we watched and took part in the preparations. On the third day after our arrival a crowd of Typees appeared on the crests of the mountains, brandishing spears and clubs as if they counted on killing and eating us in short order. One of the marines told us of the gun-deck that Captain Porter had sent word to the Typees that he had force enough to take possession of the island, and if they didn't mind their eyes and keep peaceable, he'd settle the hash of the whole tribe before their chief could so much as say, scat! I didn't believe the yarn, however, for if all that Mr. Maury's sailormen had told us was true, where did the captain find a messenger to carry his threats? Phil and I had supposed, from the preparations which were being made, and the talk we had heard, that we'd begin our share of the war before work was commenced on the vessels; but this we soon learned was a mistake. The muskets, cutlasses, and ammunition had been taken out where we might get at them handily, I suppose, and the boats were fitted up with small 2-pounder guns, after which we were set to work on other duties. Camps, made of spare sails, were set up in a grove a short distance from the shore, and the frigate pulled in where we might clean her bottom by diving, or, what was better still, hire the natives to do it. Phil and I were detailed for shore duty, and we had a soft snap of it, since our only work was to help the cooks; and while the men were setting up rigging, scraping spars, or slushing down the masts, we loafed in the cool grove, enjoying ourselves mightily. We didn't see anything that looked like war, except once in a while when a crowd of Typees came out on the top of the mountain and shook their clubs at us; but all that was such harmless amusement for them, and did not interfere with us in the slightest, that we came to think of the promise to the natives as something already forgotten. Now and again we would hear of the white man who was with the Typees, evidently enjoying himself, and more than one of our crew seemed to think it was the captain's duty to go in search of him; but nothing was done in that line, and meanwhile the work on the fleet was progressing in great shape.